


Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood

by thefullmetaledwardelric



Series: A New Senshi [4]
Category: Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood & Manga
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-14
Updated: 2014-09-13
Packaged: 2018-02-17 07:43:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 14,599
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2301911
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thefullmetaledwardelric/pseuds/thefullmetaledwardelric





	1. It's Really Him

When Natalie emerged from the portal she saw the house, the distinct yellow house on the hill. She had come out far enough away that she hoped no one would have noticed her appear pretty much out of thin air. She looked around for a place to change back figuring a girl in a sailor dress would be a bit strange to anyone that might see her.

Finding a rather large tree, Natalie hid behind it. She hoped it would be enough to keep anyone from seeing. She put her hand to her bow jewel and in a flash of light she was back to normal.

Stepping out from behind the tree, she started walking up toward the house. She had to come up with a reasonable story as to why she was here. Maybe telling them that she was here looking for an alchemy teacher would work. If she remembered right, no one knew that the government and the military had covered up the truth about what had actually happened at Central. This meant it was probably safe to assume that no one had been told that Edward had given up his ability to do alchemy. Yeah, this could work. She just wanted to meet Edward anyway. Using this excuse she could meet him and then go because she knew he would send her on her way when she said she wanted him to teach her. Yeah, this was going to be a piece of cake.

As she approached, she saw someone on the roof hammering away rather clumsily. He had long blonde hair pulled back into a ponytail, average height… Natalie’s heart started to race in her chest. It was him, it had to be. The man on the roof was none other than THE Edward Elric. This is the moment she had been waiting for. He was there, real as she was, and he was just as gorgeous as she had always believed him to be.

Alphonse was the one to see her coming though. “Hi there, can we help you with something?” he asked as he stepped out the door of the house.

“Al…” she whispered to herself when she saw him. There was no mistaking him; he had the gentle look that had always been in his eyes. He was cuter than she had thought he’d be too.

“Excuse me?” Alphonse asked having heard her whisper something.

Natalie shook her head and snapped back to reality, trying to also shake off the warm blush that had washed over her cheeks. She cleared her throat, “Um, yes, sorry. I was looking for Edward Elric.”

Alphonse smiled warmly. He’d noticed the blush in her cheeks and the fact that it seemed to linger there. “He’s up there,” he replied as he pointed up to the roof.

“Damn!” Edward exclaimed just as Alphonse had pointed up to him.

“Brother!” Alphonse yelled in a scolding voice. It was so rude to use such language especially with a guest there. He couldn’t help but to chuckle at him too though. “Did you hit your fingers again?”

Edward sighed, rubbing at his hand. “Yeah,” he said, sounding frustrated and annoyed. “I don’t think I’ll ever get used to this.”

“Well are you almost done? We have a guest and she’s here looking to see you Brother.”

“Looking for me huh? Alright, I’ll be down in a minute, just have one more patch to finish.”

“OK,” Alphonse replied. He then turned his attention back to Natalie. “Would you like to come in and wait?”

Natalie’s face lit up a bit, she couldn’t help it, but she knew she had to keep her excitement under control. If she didn’t, she’d blow everything. “Yes, thank you,” she replied with a smile.

“I’m Alphonse by the way,” he said with his usual warm smile as he led her into the house.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you Alphonse, my name’s Natalie.”

Alphonse had led her into a simple looking living room and motioned for her to have a seat. “Would you like anything to drink while we wait for Ed to finish up?”

Natalie didn’t answer right away. She wasn’t sure if it was a good idea seeing as her stomach was still doing flip flops from her nerves. “Just some water please,” she finally said, deciding that would probably be the best route to go.

“No problem,” Alphonse said as he went off in the direction of the kitchen. He really was a lot gentler than Edward and it showed all the more now that she could see it for herself. It didn’t change the fact that she liked Edward more though.

It didn’t take long for Alphonse to come back in with a glass filled with water. He placed it on the coffee table in front of her and then sat down in a chair as well. “So what brings you here to see my brother?” he asked.

Natalie felt that blush wash over her cheeks again. She had to stick to her plan. Just as she was about to answer though, Edward walked into the room.

“I swear Al, this normal life stuff doesn’t get any easier,” he said as he entered. It took him a moment to notice Natalie but when he did, he smiled at her. “Oh that’s right, Al mentioned we had a visitor,” he said as he sat down next to her on the couch.

Natalie’s heart nearly leapt out of her throat it was beating so fast. He was actually as tall as she was, she hadn’t expected that. She knew he had grown, with everything back to normal for him now that was expected but it made him look… well it made him look even manlier. “Wow…” she said softly to herself. Edward must have heard her since he turned to look at her, his brow cocked a bit.

Alphonse would break the momentary awkwardness though. “That’s right. Her name is Natalie and she said she was here to see you.”

“Me huh? Why me?” Edward asked, sounding a bit confused.

Natalie blushed even more. Both Alphonse and Edward noticed but neither of them said anything. Alphonse also noticed that she seemed to do it most when Edward came up or when he was around.

After gathering up all of her courage she finally answered him. “I came here hoping you’d teach me about alchemy,” she said, sounding a little timid.

Edward sighed heavily and lowered his head a bit, his bangs falling in front of his eyes so she couldn’t see them. “I can’t help you,” he replied, sounding a bit sad.

Natalie knew she had to make this look good. “What? But I came all this way,” she insisted. “You’re the famous Fullmetal Alchemist, youngest ever to pass the State Alchemy exam and hero to the people… why can’t you help me?” She tried to sound desperate even though she already knew the reason that was going to come out of his mouth.

Edward sighed. “I was, but I’m not anymore. I gave it up.” His voice sounded even sadder than it had before.

“But…” she said, putting her hand on his arm.

Edward pulled his arm away and stood up, clearly getting angry. “I said I CAN’T alright! I just can’t help you.” He started to walk away. Alphonse stood and stopped him by putting his hand on his brother’s shoulder. He could tell that Edward was trying so hard not to completely lose it and blow up at her. He had to give Edward credit; he really was trying to change that bad habit of his.

“Calm down Brother, I’m sure she didn’t mean any harm. She doesn’t know…”

Edward took a deep breath trying to calm himself. “I know Al…” he said softly, “I know.”

Natalie felt so bad. She had never meant to make him angry, at least not this much. He certainly was cuter when he was angry and she couldn’t deny that she did want to see it but she had a feeling that she had gone too far.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean…” she sighed and stood up. “I should go.”

Turning around to face her, Edward shook his head. “You don’t have to do that, you don’t have to go.”

“But…”

“It’s just about dinner time, at least stay and have dinner,” Edward said, sounding a lot less angry. He couldn’t blame her. No one knew, aside from a select few, that he had given up his ability to do alchemy in order to get Alphonse back.

“Yeah Natalie we insist! It’s the least we can do seeing as you _did_ come all this way,” chimed in Alphonse. He couldn’t help thinking that Natalie being here was going to turn into a good thing, especially for Edward. He wasn’t sure just how but he just knew.

Natalie smiled softly at them. “Well if you’re going to insist, I’d be happy to, thank you.”


	2. Things Aren’t Always As We Think They Are

Dinner that evening was Edward’s responsibility so while he was in the kitchen getting things together, Alphonse sat outside talking with Natalie. “I’m sorry Brother got so angry with you earlier. He’s…”

“You don’t have to explain Alphonse. It’s really none of my business anyway.”

Alphonse shook his head. “Yes I do. Brother hasn’t really been himself for awhile now.”

Natalie looked at Alphonse hoping he’d continue. She hadn’t noticed Edward acting too much different from what she expected but then she only knew him from the animes and the manga. Alphonse was his little brother, he would know better than anyone if Edward wasn’t acting right. “What do you mean?”

Alphonse sighed. “A lot happened in the last two years. Edward and I had finished with the military, we’d done what we needed to and the rest of the politics just wasn’t what we wanted. Edward had given up on his alchemy, I think because he thought that he’d have me and Winry and that would be enough. For awhile he did have us both and he was alright. That was until Winry decided to go back and continue her work in Rush Valley.”

“Seeing as it looks like just you two here now, I’m guessing this Winry never came back.”

“She used to, but not anymore. That stopped about a year ago.”

“Is it alright if I ask why?”

“Well, as you can probably figure, Brother loved Winry but he’s not exactly the best at putting his feelings into words. I think Winry may have loved him too, though I was never sure if it was real or not or if it was only that she loved him like a brother and nothing else. Either way, the last time she was here, he’d finally managed to work up the nerve to tell her how he felt but he was too late. The only reason she had actually come back was that she had come to get the last of her things and tell us that she had met someone in Rush Valley and she decided to stay there permanently. Given the news that she had, Brother never actually told her how he felt. He smiled and wished her well and let her go.”

“I can only imagine how he really took it though,” she said softly. She hadn’t expected this. In the story she’d seen back home Edward had told Winry and they lived happily ever after. Why was the reality of this place different? This was enough to make her wonder if this was possible in more of the places she’d go. That wasn’t really important now though so she pushed the thought from her mind.

“He kind of fell apart. If I hadn’t still needed him he probably would have completely fallen apart. Having me and Winry made the loss of his alchemy more bearable for him but after that…”

“Loss of his alchemy? I thought you guys said he’d given it up, not lost it.”

Alphonse looked a little panicked. He’d slipped. No one was supposed to know. “Same thing,” he replied, trying to play it off.

Natalie didn’t push it. She knew the truth anyway. She felt so bad that it had actually turned out this way. She wanted to do something but she didn’t know what right now.

“Well he seems to be doing alright now,” she said.

“He’s a good actor. He puts on a fake smile or acts like he’s a stone wall; it just comes naturally to him. He’s been like that ever since our mother died actually. I just wish he’d find a way to move on. He always used to tell people to get up and move forward but now it seems he’s having trouble practicing what he preached.”

Natalie could tell how worried about Edward he was. “You really love your brother don’t you?”

Alphonse nodded and smiled. “You bet. We’re the only family we have left.”

At that point Edward came up behind Alphonse and put his hand on his shoulder, his face looking kind of sad. He managed to scare Alphonse which in turn scared Natalie. They both quickly turned around. How long had Edward been standing there?

“Come on you two, it’s time to eat,” Edward said, holding his hand out to Natalie to help her up.

After what Alphonse had just told her, she had to resist the urge to hug him, though it might not be so awkward if he’d heard what they talked about. She wasn’t going to chance it though. For now she just accepted his silent offer to help her up and leave it at that.

The three went inside and sat at the table. Edward had made stew for dinner. Natalie actually felt a bit honored to be here for this. Stew was one of Edward’s favorite things that his mother had made and here she was sharing it with them.

“Stew, the only way to make milk taste good,” she said with a laugh unable to resist. She knew how much Edward hated milk and in stew was the only way he’d ever allow milk into his system.

Edward and Alphonse laughed along with her. “That’s right,” said Edward. “See Alphonse, I’m not the only one that thinks milk is disgusting otherwise!”

Edward’s expression lightened more in that moment than it had at any point all day. They spent the entire meal laughing and talking. The topic was nothing specific and thankfully Natalie had learned enough about this world from the stories that she was able to keep up with the conversations. It was rather nice. It reminded Natalie of the times when Amy would stay for dinner with her and her mom. It also reminded the boys of the days with Granny Pinako and Winry when they were younger.

“You know, Granny Pinako was right,” said Alphonse.

“How so Al?” asked Edward.

“Food really does taste better with guests.”

Edward didn’t say anything right away but after a moment he looked from Alphonse to Natalie and smiled. “I think you might be right Al.”

When they had finished the meal, Alphonse started to clear the table. Natalie got up to help. “You don’t have to do that, you’re our guest,” Alphonse said.

“It’s alright, I want to help,” she said as she picked up her glass. Just as she did though, Edward put his hand on hers. He had intended to persuade her to let them take care of it but instead it only caused her to drop the glass on the floor, shattering it. The combination of Edward startling her when he touched her and the flutter she felt from the simple act of him touching her had made her do it. “Oh! I’m so sorry!”

Both Edward and Natalie knelt down to clean up the broken pieces. They grabbed for the same one and Edward accidently cut Natalie’s right hand as he pulled the piece away. “Ouch!” she yelped as she pulled her hand back. It bled quite a bit, getting spots on her shirt and on the floor.

Edward helped her up and brought her into the kitchen to clean the wound. “I’m sorry Natalie, I didn’t mean…”

Natalie shook her head. “Don’t Edward. It was an accident, that’s all.”

They managed to get the bleeding to stop and Edward bandaged her up. “There, that should do it,” he said. That’s when he noticed she’d gotten blood on her shirt. Natalie looked a little embarrassed when he pointed it out to her.

“I don’t have…”

Edward chuckled a bit. She actually looked kind of cute when she was embarrassed. That little realization made his cheeks flush a bit. Before she could notice, he took a hold of her left hand and led her upstairs. “Come on, I know Winry left some clothes behind. Maybe there’s something there that will fit you.”

“Thanks,” she said softly.

“You can stay here tonight too, if you want.”

“Excuse me?” Natalie said. He had said it so softly she barely heard him.

“I said, you can stay here tonight…”

“No, I couldn’t… I don’t…” she replied, blushing again.

Edward smiled at her with that wonderfully goofy grin of his. “It’s too late to let you go back into town alone. Besides, I had a chance to think about it and maybe there’s something I can teach you about alchemy. It would be best if you stay here for that.”

Natalie’s smile lit up. Maybe staying here longer wouldn’t be so bad but there was also a part of her that twinged with guilt.


	3. A Secret Revealed

When Edward told Alphonse about changing his mind, Alphonse had no problem with it at all. They were also sure that Pinako wouldn’t mind. She spent of her time visiting with Winry in Rush Valley anyway which was where she was right now.

They had decided to let Natalie use Winry’s old room. After making sure that she was settled, they said good night and headed to their own room. Edward had told her that anything in the room was free for her to use so she found some clothes she could sleep in. She wouldn’t be able to sleep a wink though. She needed to clear her head so she quietly made her way down the stairs and outside. Those twinges of guilt were starting to get the better of her and she needed to work through them.

Sitting on the stone wall out in front of the house, Natalie started to talk to herself a bit.

“Who am I kidding? I can’t stay here. As much as I want to, I don’t belong here in this world. I can’t keep lying to them but I can’t really tell them the truth either. I can’t just leave though, that would be wrong too. Ed and Al have been so kind to me, just as I expected they would be. They’re everything, no more, than I expected actually…” She sighed heavily bringing her knees up to her chest and then resting her chin on them. “Why did they have to be so wonderful? Plus, to actually really fall pretty much at first sight for Ed, how could I let this happen?” Natalie sighed heavily. “I should have just gone on believing he was just some character in a story, I would have been better off.”

Natalie started to cry. Her heart ached something awful. Not even thinking, she wiped at her eyes with her bandaged right hand getting the bandage rather wet. Slowly, she unwrapped it. It actually didn’t hurt anymore, she was thankful for that. The wound looked really good considering how much it had bled. It looked like it had been healing for a few days instead of just a few hours. That was actually a handy little ability to have, Yuko hadn’t been kidding after all.

“I wonder why Edward changed his mind though, letting me stay here and agreeing to teach me. He gave his ability to do alchemy to get Alphonse back so how does he think he’s going to be able to teach me?” Natalie continued to mutter on.

What Natalie hadn’t realized was that Edward had heard her get up and had followed her keeping his distance just enough that he could hear her but she couldn’t see him. He’d actually been standing in the shadows of the doorway the entire time. He stood there trying to wrap his mind around what he had heard her say. Didn’t belong in this world, what did that mean? Did that have something to do with the bright light he’d seen from the roof this afternoon just before she arrived? And a character in a story, what did that mean? He had so many questions. What he wanted to know most though was how she knew about him giving up his alchemy to get Alphonse back. No one but a select few knew about that. He decided it was a good time to make his presence known to her.

She was lost deeply in thought, tears still streaming down her cheeks when he came up behind her and put his hand on her shoulder. “Natalie…”

She jumped at the touch, pulling away from him and hopping down off of the wall. Her eyes still puffy and her cheeks still stained with tears, she turned to look at him. “How… How long have you been there?” she asked. She looked so lost and vulnerable standing there looking at him. “How much…”

Edward sighed, looking at the ground. “I heard everything…” his voice was quiet but stern.

Natalie felt like her knees were going to give out. She couldn’t take this and she actually did fall to her knees. “Then you know?”

Edward took a step closer to her so now he was standing right before her. She looked up at him when he did. “I’m not sure what I know Natalie but I think you should probably start explaining.” His eyes were intense, their golden color picking up the moonlight and making them appear more piercing.

She sighed heavily and hung her head. She couldn’t help it, she started crying again. “I’ll explain but I’m not sure you’d believe me.”

Edward crossed his arms still looking at her intensely. “Try me.”

Natalie took a deep breath and managed to get to her feet. She went and sat back on the stone wall. “You might want to sit down too…” she said softly. Doing as she suggested he sat down beside her. “To put it simply, I’m from another world entirely. I wasn’t lying when I said I came here to see you though, it just wasn’t to learn alchemy. In my world… well in my world I’ve read stories about your journeys with Alphonse to get your bodies back and how you faced the Homunculi, even about your final battle with Father and trading your alchemy to bring Alphonse back from the gate. They were all in comic books we call manga and in shows we could watch called anime. Well from those stories I’d fallen… um… I’d taken in interest in you and when I found out that I had the ability to travel worlds I selfishly wanted to come here and meet you in person. I never meant…”

At this point Edward stopped her. “OK, OK… but what I don’t get is how could this be a story in someone else’s world?”

Natalie shook her head. “That I don’t know, I just know that’s how it is. I’m still kind of new at this.”

“Then how do you explain that?” he asked pointing to her hand.

“It’s another part of my ability; I heal a lot faster than most people.”

Edward looked at her, his eyes wide with what appeared to be horror. Natalie noticed it and remembered the healing abilities of the Homunculi.

“It’s not what you think Edward, I’m not a homunculus, I swear. I’m just as human as you are; I just don’t go down that easy.”

Edward sat there silently, trying to take all of this in. “You expect me to believe all of this?” he finally asked, his voice hushed and almost angry.

Natalie sighed, there was only one way she knew of to be able to prove any of this to him but she wasn’t allowed to take people to other worlds. Then it hit her, the world with the gate. All at once she knew how she could prove her story to him and help him all in one shot. She just hoped it worked.

She looked at him with renewed resolve. “I can prove it; you just have to do two things.”

“Which are?”

“First trust me and second you have to promise me you’ll never tell anyone about my secret, not even Alphonse.”

Edward thought about it for a moment. “Alright, but if you’re lying…”

“I know, I know. You’re going to beat the snot out of me right?” she said unable to keep herself from chuckling.

“No, I don’t hit girls,” he said sounding a bit offended that she’d even suggest it. “But if you’re lying, I want you to leave.”

Natalie nodded. “Agreed, now here goes.”

Natalie hopped down off the wall and pulled her pen from her pocket. She held it in the air, “Charon Star Power Make Up!” In a bright flash of light she transformed. It was so bright that Edward had to shield his eyes but when he took his arm away she was standing there in her sailor scout outfit, her lantern staff in hand. He couldn’t help but to stare a little. Natalie noticed and chuckled which made him blush a little. “Ready to go?” she asked.

Edward stood up and nodded. “Yeah, but this isn’t going to hurt or rearrange my insides or anything is it?”

Natalie laughed and shook her head. “No it won’t but fair warning though, it can be a bit of a strange feeling especially the first time. You won’t be in any danger, I promise,” she said as she used her staff to open the portal. She then held her hand out to him. “Make sure you hold on tight though, I don’t want you to get lost in between the worlds.”

He took her outstretched hand, holding tightly as she had told him to. She then led him through the portal.


	4. A Gift From the Truth

As they travelled through the universal space, Natalie made sure to keep a tight hold on Edward’s hand. She hoped this was alright. She knew that she wasn’t allowed to take people from their own world but since this place was technically a world within his own world and a place that he’d already been to, it should be fine.

When they emerged from the portal they stood in front of the gateway of truth. Before them was the keeper of this place.

“Well, well, well, what do we have here? I never thought I’d see you again,” the keeper said looking at Edward. “And you as well,” he said turning to now to look at Natalie. “I’m very surprised to see the ferryman here.”

Edward was speechless. How were they able to get here without the transmutation circle? “Natalie… what’s going on here?”

“I’m proving my story to you Edward. We’re here without the transmutation circle aren’t we?”

Edward nodded. “Yeah but…”

“Why here? Simple, I’m killing two birds with one stone. I’m proving to you that I am who and what I said I am and I’m going to get your alchemy back.”

“What?!”

“You heard me Edward. Look, I need you to know you can trust me and this was the only way I could come up with. That and Alphonse told me what happened after you got him back. This is the least I can do to help you get up and move forward again.” Natalie’s tone was resolute and absolute. There was no way he could argue with her.

“But why is that so important to you?” he asked, genuinely confused.

Natalie smiled looking him directly in the eye and put her hand softly on his cheek. “If this works, I’ll tell you when we get back alright?” He nodded. What did he have to lose at this point anyway?

She then took her hand away from his face and turned her attention back to the keeper. He grinned at her. “Quite the task you’ve set for yourself there Ferryman.”

“I know and I know there’s a price I have to pay to get Edward’s gateway back.”

The gatekeeper still simply grinner at her. “And?”

Natalie took a deep breath, hardening her resolve. “Alright, tell me how this grabs you. By being here and going through that gate, my gate, I’ll see my version of the truth which should awaken my own ability to do alchemy. When I do that then I turn around and exchange my ability for Edward’s.”

The keeper laughed at her. “That’s quite a plan Ferryman, very well thought out except for one thing.”

“What’s that?”

“It wouldn’t be an equivalent exchange. Your power and the base for it, both your star power and your alchemic power are based in something stronger, more valuable than that boy’s is.”

“Alright, then what would an equivalent exchange be?”

“You don’t need to make one.”

“Excuse me?”

“Just what I said, you don’t need to make an exchange. As I said before, your gateway is powered differently and because of who you are you get your power from the universal creator, a power equal to, if not greater, than my own.”

“That doesn’t seem fair though. If I go in there and just retrieve Edward’s gateway, who’s to say that he won’t lose Alphonse again?”

“First of all Ferryman, Edward paid his price and got his reward, I wouldn’t take that back. I humble people but contrary to what you may have read I’m not THAT cruel but if you still insist on making it ‘fair’ that can be arranged.”

“I do, so what’s the price Keeper?”

He grinned. Humans, even gifted or special ones, were such strange and entertaining creatures. He then pointed to her midsection. “You have a great vision of creating a better tomorrow for the next generation so to take your ability to create your own next generation seems fair.”

“Natalie! No! You can’t!” Edward said as he started to move forward.

She put her hand up and he stopped. “No Edward, it’s alright, I came here with you for a purpose and I have to pay the price for that purpose.”

“But why? Why give that up for me?”

“I told you Edward, if we make it back I’ll tell you. Now let me finish my business here so we _can_ go back.”

Edward stood there speechless. He couldn’t believe she was doing this for him. As far as he knew they were practically strangers. Sure she knew about his past but they had only just actually met today, why give this much?

“So Ferryman, still willing to do this?”

Natalie gritted her teeth and nodded. “I am.”

The keeper grinned. “Excellent. Now all you have to do is take him and enter the gate making sure to keep him close the entire time. It’s the only way you’ll be able to find his gateway in there. When you emerge and then leave this place you’ll have what you came here for and your price will be paid, understood?”

Natalie nodded then turned to Edward. “Come on Edward,” she said holding her hand out to him to take. “Let’s get your alchemy back.”

Silently he took her hand. Natalie noticed that a single tear stream had run down his cheek. She took her other hand and gently wiped it away. “It’s going to be alright Edward. Now come on,” she said as she pushed open the gate. Side by side they entered and the door closed behind them.

A few moments later, Edward’s gate appeared next to Natalie’s and they both emerged from Natalie’s gate. Doing as the keeper had told her she immediately made a portal back to the house on the hill and they left the gate world.

Once they were gone, the keeper grinned.

“You can come out now,” he said. When he did, Yuko appeared as if stepping out from behind some unseen wall.

“I told that girl that he was only going to cause her trouble.”

“Yes well a bit of believing she paid the price will be good for her. She’ll learn soon enough just how much trouble he’s going to be for her anyway. This is nothing.”

Yuko nodded. “We’ll just have to wait and see.”


	5. A Promise is a Promise

When they emerged from the portal, they both had to catch their breath. They hadn’t really had a chance once they had left the gate as they had just gone right to the portal. Both of them sat back down on the stone wall. Natalie put her hands together before putting them down so when she did a small pillar appeared. It startled her causing her to almost fall backwards off the wall.

“Well we know you got your ability to do alchemy complete with the part about not needing the circle,” Edward said as he went over to the little pillar. He clapped his hands together and put them on the misshapen little pillar, restoring it back to the stones it had originally been. “Seems I have mine back too.” He took a deep breath and looked at Natalie, his expression grateful. “Thank you,” he said softly.

Natalie smiled at him. “You’re welcome, but now it seems I really do need an alchemy teacher.”

He couldn’t help but to laugh. “Seems so, but how am I going to explain this to Al? You made me promise not to tell anyone, even him.”

Natalie hadn’t thought about that. “Um, well alright, I think it might be alright if we tell him but I can’t go through all that again to prove it to him too.”

“I don’t think we’ll have to. Al is a little more trusting than I am and I’m pretty sure that if I tell him it’s the truth he’ll be alright with it. You may have to show him that little transformation trick of yours though.”

“That won’t be a problem. I have an idea for how to show him the portals too, you know, just in case.”

Edward looked at her a bit confused. “But you just said…”

Natalie couldn’t help but to chuckle. “I can use those portals within a world too. I don’t have to travel to a different world to make them work.”

“Why didn’t you just do that to show me then?” That’s when he remembered that she had promised to tell him why she was willing to go through all of this for him. He was just getting ready to ask when he saw her put her hand to her chest. He instantly thought something was wrong but before he could do or say anything. She was wrapped up in that bright light again. When it faded she was back in her pajamas. “You know, a little warning before you do that might be nice.”

Natalie laughed. “Sorry.”

Edward stood up and turned to look at her. “You didn’t answer my question. Why did you go through all that if you didn’t have to? You did promise to tell me why you were willing to pay that price too…”

Natalie sighed. “Well I knew if I was going to prove to you that you could trust me, I had to do something that might put my life at risk.”

“Why would you do something so reckless!?” Edward asked, his voice filled with a mixture of concern and anger.

Getting up, Natalie glared at him intensely. If looks could kill, her crimson eyes would have pierced directly through him. He had clearly made her angry. “Why did you always do it Edward? Why didn’t you run when Alphonse told you to back when you faced Scar and he destroyed your automail arm? Why were you so willing to die as long as he let Alphonse go?”

Edward back peddled a bit feeling a bit embarrassed. He remembered full well why he’d always done it. It was just strange to think that now the tables were turned on him and by this girl no less. She really did know quite a bit about what had happened to them back then.

“Yeah, sometimes we have to do reckless things alright?” She was still a little angry so she turned away from him. She actually felt like she wanted to cry again. This was rough. She wanted to tell him the real reason why she’d done all this. It was clear he hadn’t registered it when she’d said it earlier.

Edward just stood there. Why did girls have to be like this? Winry had acted like this a lot too. He sighed and took a step towards her to put his hand on her shoulder. “Look, I didn’t mean to get angry at you. I just don’t understand Natalie. We were strangers until this afternoon.”

Natalie turned back around, her eyes filled with tears. When he’d put his hand on her that had been enough, the final straw. She couldn’t hold the tears back anymore and they’d started to stream down her cheeks. It took Edward by surprise and he clearly didn’t know how to react. She saw that it made him uneasy but she didn’t care, she didn’t bother to wipe the tears away. “That may be true; at least in the sense that we didn’t actually physically meet until this afternoon but you have to remember Edward, I’ve known you for a lot longer.”

“Ed…”

“What?”

“Just call me Ed OK? After all of this, I don’t think you need to be so formal anymore.”

“OK… Ed…” she said, blushing behind her still tear moistened cheeks.

“But that still leaves me at a big disadvantage here. You know an awful lot more about me than I know about you.”

“Well you know the biggest secret about me, which should count for something. And besides, now I have to stay here longer anyway, you still need to teach me about alchemy. You haven’t changed your mind about that have you?”

Edward shook his head. “No I haven’t changed my mind. I owe you for giving me my own alchemy back don’t I?”

Natalie sighed and shook her own head. “You don’t owe me Ed. I did it because I wanted to, not because I thought I was going to get anything from you. I never wanted anything from you. Remember, I was originally just planning to meet you and then leave.”

He wasn’t sure why but he suddenly felt the urge to hug her and did. “I’m grateful that you changed your mind.”

Natalie hesitated for a moment before she finally put her arms around him, returning the hug. She rested her head against his shoulder as she did and closed her eyes. Suddenly she felt really tired. “I’m actually the one who’s grateful, because you changed yours,” she replied softly.

After a moment more, they finally let go. Natalie’s cheeks were bright red and Edward’s hadn’t escaped a bit of flushing either.

“You still haven’t kept your promise though.” He said, grinning at her a bit. “We DID make it back alive you know.”

Natalie bit at her lower lip a bit. Clearly he still didn’t get it; he could be so dense sometimes. That was alright though; she didn’t need him to get it completely just yet.

“You know, it’s late so how about this, if you really want to know why I did all of this, think back and remember how you felt about Winry once up a time. When you remember that then you’ll have my reason.” She then kissed him on the cheek and headed back inside. “Good night Ed…” It had been a long night and it was long past time to get some rest. She knew if he thought about it enough, he’d get it eventually and that’s all she wanted, nothing more.

Edward stood there as Natalie walked away. Thankfully she hadn’t seen him blush after she’d kissed his cheek. At first he’d had no clue what she’d done that little stunt either. One more thing about her he didn’t get right away. It wouldn’t be until later that night, once he too had gone to bed, that he’d realize the truth about the entire series of events. He hadn’t been able to sleep so he turned over the night’s events in his mind along with that last thing she’d said to him. The answer came to him just before his body made him drift off to sleep. How could he have missed it? The real reason she had come here, the reason she was so willing to give up so much for him, it was clear as day, Natalie was in love with him.


	6. I Knew She'd Be Good For Him

The next morning, Natalie was up pretty early, even considering how late she’d been up the night before. Alphonse was also up.

“You guys were up pretty late last night.”

Natalie blushed. “I’m sorry Alphonse, did our talking keep you up?”

Alphonse shook his head. “Don’t worry, you didn’t. I just heard Brother leave and then come back that’s all. I figured it would have had something to do with you.”

It wasn’t long before Edward came downstairs as well. When he came in Natalie was helping Alphonse with breakfast. When she heard him, she turned around smiling, “Good morn… ED!!!!” she shouted, covering her eyes. When he’d come in he’d had his shirt in his hand and a towel around his shoulders. His hair hung long as well as he had yet to have put it up.

“What?” he asked innocently. He honestly had no idea why she was freaking out. Alphonse shot him a look. He’d figured out why Natalie had reacted that way.

“Brother, put your shirt on!”

“But I always…”

Alphonse kept the look on his face. “Brother…”

Edward sighed. “Alright, alright…” he said as he took the towel off of his shoulders and put his shirt on.

Natalie’s heart felt like it was going to beat out of her chest. Holy cow, he was a lot more toned than she had expected. Well she should have expected it though considering she saw the remainder of the scar he had left from when he’d had the automail. He’d had to get pretty strong to be able to use that arm he’d had. He never would have been able to fight the way he had in those days if he hadn’t gotten this way. She was just surprised that even two years after he’d stopped fighting he still looked that good. She’d never tell him that though. Edward’s ego was big enough as it was.

Edward walked over to Natalie and took her hands from her eyes. “Would you quit acting weird? I put a shirt on, yeesh. You’d think you’d never seen a guy with his shirt off before. How old are you again?” He couldn’t help but laugh at her.

Natalie didn’t think he was being so funny and she punched him in the arm. “I’m 18 thank you very much and for your information I HAVE seen guys with their shirts off before; it’s just…” her voice trailed off as she blushed a bit. She quickly shook it off though. “You just caught me off guard, that’s all.” She couldn’t tell if he had figured out the meaning of what she’d said to him last night or not. He didn’t seem to be acting strange though so maybe he hadn’t figured it out yet. That was fine.

“You’re older than me???” Edward asked, surprised by this.

Natalie nodded. “Yeah, but it can’t be by much, if it makes you feel any better. I just turned 18 not that long ago, and at least you’re taller than me… but not by much…” she said chuckling at him.

His eyes narrowed at her. “Are you implying that I’m short?”

Natalie stuck her tongue at him. “So what if I am… pipsqueak… Guys should be taller than girls.”

“That’s it! You’re going to get it now! No one calls me pipsqueak you giant freak!”

Natalie had seen this coming and had already taken off running before him. She couldn’t help but to laugh as she ran out the front door. So he was still sensitive about his height even though he had grown quite a bit over the last few years. Being around her height meant that he had to be at least 5 feet 8 inches tall, a far cry from the 5 feet 5 inches he’d been two years ago. And now that she’d stood next to him, he was a bit taller than her as she had joked with him.

Edward had managed to chase her around the house a few times before Alphonse came out and stopped them. “Come on you two, let’s eat.”

Edward and Natalie both stopped, finally out of breath anyway.

“Al’s right. Besides, after breakfast we get started with your training. I’ll pay you back for the pipsqueak comment then,” he said with that devilish look she knew so well on his face. Natalie knew she was going to be in trouble.

So after they all ate and had cleaned up they headed outside. Natalie could only imagine what this training was going to be considering how Izumi had worked them when they were training with her. She had to be prepared for anything.

“Alright, so I’m going to test you by asking you a simple question,” Edward started. Alphonse smirked. He knew what Edward was going to ask. They’d spent a month alone on an island to figure this one out. “What is the meaning of ‘All is one and one is all’? If you can’t answer that then I’m not sure if there’s anything I can do to teach you. It’s certainly going to take a hell of a lot more time and effort to teach you.”

Natalie smirked at him. She knew this one, no problem. “The ‘all’ is the world and the ‘one’ is me. That basically means that I need everything around me to survive and when my time comes I’ll go back to the world that sustained me.”

Edward smirked at her. “Not bad, you’ve done your homework.”

“Do you think I would have come here to you if I hadn’t?” She was keeping up the lie that she had come here only for training. She had to wonder though when they were going to tell Alphonse the truth.

“Now let’s see if you have any talent. Do whatever you’d like; we just need to see what we’re working with.”

Natalie gave him a bit of a look. If she did what he asked then Alphonse would know that she could transmute without a circle like Edward could and she assumed Alphonse still could too. He gave her a ‘don’t worry’ look. “Well?”

Natalie took a deep breath, clapped her hands together, and then put them on the ground. When she did, she created a small ring of flowers from the grass that had been at her feet. Edward just looked at her and smiled. Alphonse on the other hand looked dumbfounded.

“You can transmute without a circle?”

Natalie shrugged like it was nothing. “Can’t you guys?”

“Yeah but that’s because we…” He cut himself off. Alphonse didn’t know that Natalie already knew everything and he certainly didn’t know yet that Natalie had gotten Edward’s alchemy powers back. He soon would know though.

Edward then stepped over to his brother putting his hand on his shoulder. “It’s alright Al. You might want to sit down, there’s a few things you need to know about.”

“Brother?”

“Please Alphonse, do as Ed asks,” Natalie said softly.

Alphonse did as Edward asked and sat down on the ground. “What’s going on you two?”

“This,” said Edward as he clapped his hands together and put them on the ground. As he lifted his hands, he pulled his favorite speared staff from the earth.

“Brother! You got your ability to do alchemy back! How did you do that? I’m still here so what did you trade? When did you even go back there? How did you get there?”

Natalie blushed and raised her hand. “I took him and I paid the price for him to get it back last night.”

“But how did you open the gateway there?”

“I did that one too.”

“How? You need to make a sacrifice to open that portal and it doesn’t look like either of you did.”

“I don’t have to pay the toll to get there. I have the power to do that all on my own.”

“Natalie’s special Al, she has this weird power that allows her to travel from world to world. She took me to the gate world last night.”

“He caught me out here muttering because I felt guilty for lying to you guys. I actually didn’t come here to get training, I just wanted to meet Ed and then I had planned to leave. But after what you told me yesterday afternoon Alphonse and then how generous you both were and so welcoming, like I said I started to feel guilty. Well since Ed had heard everything I decided that the best way to prove that I wasn’t any harm to you guys was to show Ed how my power works and help him by getting his alchemy back. You said it yourself Alphonse, you wanted him to get up and move forward. I just wanted to help.”

Alphonse didn’t say anything. This was a lot to take in and Natalie and Edward both knew it. “It’s for real Al,” Edward said after giving him a few minutes to digest it all.

“I can show you too if you want me to,” Natalie said as she then took her pen from her pocket. “You might want to shield your eyes, it gets kind of bright.” Edward and Alphonse both shielded their eyes as she suggested. “Charon Star Power Make Up!” Once again, she was in her sailor dress, her lantern staff in hand.

Both Edward and Alphonse took their hands away from their eyes. Alphonse was amazed by what he saw. Natalie couldn’t resist doing a spin. “What do you think?”

“When did that symbol show up on your back?” Edward asked. “Was it there before?”

“Symbol? What symbol?”

Edward ran inside and grabbed his old jacket, the red one with the snake and cross symbol on the back. “This one,” he said holding it up so Natalie could see.

“You’re kidding right?” Natalie ran into the house looking for a mirror. When she found one she had to contort herself a bit but he was right, there it was. She made her way back outside. “It had to have happened after last night but why?”

“Because you’re an alchemist now, and since it’s the symbol we’ve all used, Teacher, Alphonse, and I. I think, because the alchemy has been added to your other powers, it was actually fitting for it to show up on your costume.”

Alphonse was still reeling from all of this though. It took a little bit but they sat down and explained everything to him right down to exactly what Natalie had done to get Edward his alchemy back. She even demonstrated her powers for him.

“So you came from a different world and came here because you had read about what had happened to us in books and came here to meet Brother because you… Wait, why just to see Brother?” Alphonse asked, grinning at Natalie. He already knew and he could tell by the look in his brother’s eyes, he knew Natalie’s reason too.

Natalie just blushed. She wasn’t going to go through this again. “I explained it to Ed last night. If he got it, then he can tell you later.”

Alphonse just laughed. “You know, I had feeling when you got here that you’d be good for Brother. I’m glad you came, no matter where you came from.”


	7. Guys Talk About This Stuff?

That night, Natalie passed out early. Edward and Alphonse had worked her pretty hard after they had level set Alphonse on what had happened. They had taken a similar approach with her as Izumi had taken when training them; you had to work the body in order to work the mind. Natalie hadn’t minded much though; she could use the work outs. It had been awhile since she’d last gone to her martial arts training back home but that was why it just exhausted her now.

Edward and Alphonse were taking it easy downstairs in the living room.

“It’s been awhile since we had a workout like that hasn’t it Al.”

Alphonse nodded. “Yeah, it felt good. It was actually nice to finally be able to again. I’m still not completely back to normal yet though, I could feel it.”

“Yeah, but you’ll get there. Look how far you’ve come in the last two years. When I pulled you out of the gate you could barely even walk, now look at you.”

“Look at _you_ Brother.”

Edward looked at him funny. “What do you mean?”

“You’ve been more yourself in the last two days than you have been in the last year. You needed this and don’t tell me you didn’t.”

Edward laughed. “Yeah, I admit I did. I thought I’d be alright without alchemy but once I didn’t have it, well, I guess it was like half of me was gone.”

“That’s not what I meant.” Alphonse looked at Edward with a knowing grin on his face. “You know it’s more than just the alchemy. You needed someone like her too.”

Edward blushed. “You’re reading too much into it Al. Yeah, it was because of her that all of this happened but…”

“She told you how she felt last night didn’t she? That’s why she didn’t want to say it again this morning just in case you didn’t get it. What exactly did she say anyway?”

Edward sat there looking rather obstinate, arms crossed and refusing to look at Alphonse. “It’s not important.”

“Yes it is Brother, what did she say?” He was prodding Edward and he would do it relentlessly if he had to. He was going to make Edward spill if for no other reason than to get him to admit it to himself that it had actually happened. Edward had a bad habit of overlooking variables in life like love. It was how he’d lost Winry after all. Alphonse didn’t want to see his big brother fall into that trap again. Edward was brilliant when it came to science and alchemy but in anything else, well he still had a lot to learn.

“You’re not going to let this go are you?” Edward said though a heavy sigh.

“Nope,” Alphonse replied, grinning.

“Fine, I guess I don’t have much of a choice. I swear Al; I don’t know who the more stubborn one really is.”

“Oh that’s you hands down Brother. Now come on, what did she say?”

Edward just shook his head in exasperation. “She said to think about how I felt about Winry and then I’d understand why she’d done all of that for me. I didn’t get it right away but I couldn’t get it out of my head after I went to bed last night. I turned everything all over in my head over and over again then it hit me.”

“She told you that she loved you without actually telling you that she loved you.”

Edward nodded. “Yeah, pretty much. I just don’t get why. I still don’t get it. How can you love someone you hardly know? I mean yeah she said she’d read all about us, but it still doesn’t make any sense to me.”

Alphonse laughed, a lot.

“What’s so funny?” Edward asked, sounding a bit upset.

“I’m sorry Brother, but sometimes you’re so naïve. You’re looking at this way too logically when there’s nothing logical about it.”

Edward just looked away from his brother again, his face getting warm with a combination of embarrassment and a hint of anger. It was mostly just embarrassment though. Here his little brother was trying to explain love to him. It should have been the other way around. Wasn’t the older brother supposed to be the well of knowledge when it came to this stuff? And what did Alphonse know anyway? He’d never been in love, at least not that Edward knew about.

“Come on Brother, don’t pout. I think it’s a good thing. You need something besides alchemy in your life, a purpose. Now that things have been set right, we really haven’t had a purpose.”

“And what was helping you get back on your feet, pretty much literally?”

“That was part of getting things set right again. But I’m fine now Brother, we both are.”

“Well aside from this,” Edward said as he knocked on his automail leg. “But it was my choice to keep this even though I’m pretty sure that, had I wanted to, I could have gotten my real leg back.”

“But then that brings us back to a new purpose. I’ve been thinking about going to Xing but I don’t want to go if I don’t think you’re going to be alright.”

“Xing huh? May made an impression on you didn’t she?” Edward said slyly, finally being able to turn the tables on his younger brother.

“No… I want to learn about alchehestry, that’s all,” Alphonse replied, blushing almost as much as Edward had when it came to Natalie.

“Alchehestry, right. And do you expect me to believe May has nothing at all to do with it?”

“Well, she would be the one that would teach me but… I just thought we could… Well we could find a way to use our alchemy and their alchehestry.” Alphonse was a bright red at this point.

Edward laughed. “Isn’t so funny when it’s you getting needled is it?”

Alphonse huffed a bit. “Fine I get it Brother. But still, that doesn’t change the fact that I don’t want to leave you behind, especially if I think you’re going to self destruct again.”

“Who self destructed?” Edward asked, starting to get angry.

“Calm down. Even you can’t deny that you lost it after Winry left, I heard you at night. You have a bad habit of talking in your sleep when you’re upset about something. I know if you hadn’t had to take care of me you probably would have totally withdrawn. You do that whenever you don’t know how to handle your emotions. Remember what happened after Nina or after we found out that Brigadier General Hughes was killed? You completely lost it and then almost gave up on everything.”

“That was different,” Edward said as he got up to look out the window. The moon was still bright outside as it had been the night before. Who was he kidding? Edward knew his younger brother was right. No matter how much he’d grown up it still didn’t change the fact that he never did handle things well when they didn’t go his way, especially when his heart was involved. It really didn’t matter if it was because someone he cared about died or if they just left.

“Brother, I just want to know that if Natalie does leave and I’m not here that you’ll be alright. I know you care about her…”

“I don’t know how I feel about her Al.”

“But you’ve been so kind to her. I just thought…”

Edward sighed a bit. “Look, you know I couldn’t very well make her leave especially after what we found out about her.”

“You asked her to stay before you knew that Brother.”

“What are you implying Alphonse?” Edward said as he turned to look at his brother genuinely curious as to what crazy thing might come out of his mouth.

“You knew she was different, special, when she got here. She got to you right away, I saw it. If I had to guess it was love at first sight.”

Edward started laughing nearly hysterically. “Are you nuts Al? Love at first sight? That’s ridiculous! There’s no way that’s even possible.”

Alphonse chuckled. “You laugh Brother but you’ll see.”

Having finally regained his composure he just shook his head. “It’s just nonsense, nothing more. I’m heading to bed, it’s late.” He then walked out of the room, raising his hand to his brother waving good night to him.

“Ed, why do you have to be so stubborn?” Alphonse asked himself as he too got up and headed upstairs to bed.


	8. He Really Doesn't Get It

The next morning, training resumed. Edward didn’t go any easier on Natalie today than he had yesterday. He actually looked like he was working her harder. What was he thinking? She couldn’t take too much more of this. Natalie knew that too. If Alphonse didn’t know better, he’d think Edward was taking out the frustration he felt after their conversation last night on her to prove Alphonse’s theory wrong.

“Ed, what’s gotten into you? You’re coming after me like I’m really trying to hurt you,” Natalie said after dodging a particular nasty punch he’d thrown. She was clearly out of breath.

Edward, still poised and ready to fight, looked at her. “You have to learn to fight against someone who really is trying to hurt you Natalie, and the only way to do that is to spar like your life depended on it. Now come on, I didn’t say you could take a break yet.” He lunged for her, his fist cocked and ready to hit her square in the jaw. Natalie hadn’t quite prepared for it but she managed to move enough to not get hit by the punch but she had left herself open and Edward caught her in the midsection with his knee, and not the normal one.

Natalie doubled over, winded and gasping for air. Instantly Alphonse was up and helping her up. “Edward! What were you thinking?” he scolded. “She’s not ready for this!”

Edward stood frozen, his eyes wide. Natalie shook Alphonse off, standing on her own. “I’m alright Al, really…” she said, her voice raspy as she still hadn’t gotten her breath back from the hit. She didn’t want to show the weakness though. If Edward wanted a hard headed full on battle, she was going to give him one. “Fine Ed, if you want it that way…” She took her pen from her pocket and transformed. Once she was done she took her staff firmly in hand and glared at him. She wasn’t going to let him get away with this. Someone needed to knock some sense into him and she was willing to give it a try. Something had gotten into him, she didn’t know what but she was going to find out or at least make him pay for that cheap shot.

When she transformed, Edward snapped out of the frozen stance of horror. The look in her eyes, there was something there he recognized. She was pissed. That was an emotion he could deal with. “About time you got serious,” he said grinning at her.

“Indeed, I just hope you’re ready for it…” She gritted her teeth and came at him, her staff in hand and she was ready to smack him upside the head with it. He dodged it, rolling a few feet from her. He clapped his hands together and created his spear to fight back. He then came after her with it. She blocked it using her own staff. They backed off recognizing this was only going to end in a dead lock. Edward then clapped his hands together once more and put them to the ground. Beneath him grew a pillar lifting him up in the air. He was getting ready to drop down on her but she wouldn’t give him the chance. “Charon Spatial Rift!” she called as she pointed her staff at the pillar blowing it apart. Edward fell hard on the ground.

“What the hell was that!?” Edward yelled as he got to his feet. “Where did that come from? That wasn’t alchemy!”

Natalie stood back looking at him with a smirk on her face, her arms crossed. “You like that huh? I still have a few secrets up my sleeve you don’t know about. Now are you going to stop screwing around? I can clearly handle myself well enough without the alchemy.”

Alphonse couldn’t believe what he was seeing. She was just as hard headed as Edward. Even without their training she could easily hold her own against him.

Edward started to get angry. “If you’re so good then why are you still here?”

Natalie didn’t back down. She walked over to him, getting right in his face, her crimson eyes looking just as intense as his golden ones as she stared at him. “You already know the answer to that Edward. I need you to show me how to use the alchemy,” she said sternly.

“Why is that so important to you?” he asked, not giving her an inch.

“I need to be able to defend myself when I’m not transformed or when I can’t transform. I appreciate the martial arts training but that’s not enough, and besides, I know most of this stuff already. We do have this sort of training back home too, you know and I’ve been there and done that already. Damn it Ed, why do you have to be such a stubborn ass?”

Edward backpedalled a bit after she called him a stubborn ass. Winry had called him that a few times when he was being unusually hard headed.

No wonder she seemed to pick up the physical training so well though. “Fine, you want to know about the alchemy then we’ll get right to it.” He clapped his hands and put them on the ground, the land around Natalie rose up, wrapping around her completely up to her neck. “If you want to use alchemy like we do it involves more than just clapping your hands together. You have to know the limits and have strong concentration. You can’t make something if you don’t have the materials required for it either.”

Natalie struggled trying to free herself. “I know that.”

Edward walked over to her coming eye to eye with her once again. The look in his eyes wasn’t angry this time though, it was more hurt. “If that’s the case then I’ll ask you again, why are you still here? Don’t jerk me around Natalie, if you need my help then I’ll help you but if you don’t then why are you staying here? If you don’t need me, then leave…” His voice had started angry and pointed but the last sentence his tone changed, it softened. He actually sounded a bit hurt.

“Ed…” Natalie started.

He clapped his hands together and put them on the earth that surrounded Natalie freeing her from it. “You heard me…”

In that moment Alphonse realized that he’d been right last night, Edward did have feelings for her he just couldn’t see it or more accurately wouldn’t see it. He hoped that Edward wasn’t really going to let her leave though.

As soon as Natalie’s hands were free she slapped him across the face. “Fine Edward, if you don’t want me here I’ll leave.” Her chin started to quiver and tears welled in her eyes but she was determined not to let her own anger go from her eyes and she would be damned if she was going to let him see her cry for this. She was sure by the way he was treating her that he hadn’t figured out the meaning in her words that first night or if he had it didn’t make a bit of a difference to him. She put her hand to her chest and transformed back then without another word she went back inside.

“Natalie wait!” Alphonse called after her.

“No Al, let her go…” he said softly. He put his hand to his cheek where she’d hit him, watching her back as she walked away.

Alphonse went over to Edward and slugged him in the gut. “You really are a stubborn ass Brother!”

“Hey! What did you do that for Al?”

“Because you’re a blind fool, that’s why. Brother, you need to go in there and apologize to her, NOW!”

“But Al…”

Alphonse put his foot down and pointed into the house. “No buts Ed get in there and swallow your pride and apologize! You’ll never forgive yourself if she leaves, especially if she leaves because of what you said to her. Now get moving!” The look on Alphonse’s face was nothing short of scary and Edward knew that there was going to be no arguing with him.

“Fine,” Edward said, sighing and heading back into the house.

Making his way up to Natalie’s room he knocked on the door. “Natalie? Can I come in?”

“Go away,” she said just loud enough to be heard through the door.

He could tell that she was crying. It made his heart ache to hear it. Why did she affect him this much? “Come on Natalie, let me in.” He leaned his forehead against the door putting his hand up next to it. “Look, I’m sorry, please let me in.”

“I told you Ed, go away. I don’t want to talk to you right now.”

“Don’t make me open the door on my own Natalie, please just talk to me. I said I was sorry, you don’t have to go…” He clenched both his eyes and his fists closed. He knew he had really done it this time. Natalie and Alphonse were right, he really was a stubborn ass.

He heard her get up and walk over to the door. He backed off of it so she could open it without him falling in on her. When she opened it, she stood there, her eyes red and puffy and her cheeks soaked with tears. She looked as defeated as she felt and it was his fault.

“What Ed?” she said shortly. “I opened the door now what do you want?”

He went to wipe the tears from her face but she only smacked his hand away. He sighed heavily. “I wanted to say…” He looked into her eyes and his voice choked up in his throat.

“Spit it out Ed.”

“I’m trying,” he said before taking a deep breath. “Look Natalie, I’m sorry.” His cheeks flushed bright red as he put his hand on the back of his neck, rubbing it nervously. “I said some things… I didn’t mean I wanted you to… I just…”

Natalie shook her head. “Don’t Ed, it’s alright, really. But I think you were right, why am I still here? It’s something I have to think about Edward.”

“What?” Edward asked, looking a little bit alarmed.

Natalie shook her head. “Don’t worry about it too much. I’m not going anywhere just yet but I do need to think about your question.”

Edward looked down at the floor and nodded. “I understand. I’ll leave you alone then,” he said as he walked away from the door and headed back downstairs.


	9. Don’t Think You Can Leave Without Saying Good-Bye

Natalie didn’t come out of her room for the rest of the day. She wouldn’t even come out for dinner so Alphonse went up with a tray of food for her.

“Natalie? I know you’re upset but you have to eat something. Please?” Alphonse waited for a minute for her to open the door. When she didn’t he left the tray and went back downstairs.

“I thought you said you apologized to her,” he said to Edward as he stepped off of the last stair.

“I did but I don’t know as it did any good. Actually judging from the way she’s acting, I know it didn’t.” Edward sighed. “This is what I get for being an ass and asking her why she’s still here.”

Alphonse looked at Edward a bit confused. He remembered Edward saying it earlier, it’s what started this to begin with, but what he didn’t understand was why it still mattered if he had apologized.

“I bet she’s up there thinking it over just like she said she was going to,” Edward continued then chuckled a bit. “You watch Al, tomorrow morning she’ll come downstairs and everything will be fine.” He then put on that false goofy smile he’d gotten so good at over the years. Alphonse saw through it. He knew that his brother didn’t believe his words any more that he did.

Meanwhile, upstairs, Natalie waited for Alphonse to leave before she opened the door and brought in the tray he’d left for her. She was hungry but she wasn’t ready to face them yet. Taking the tray, she sat back on the bed and munched away at the bread while she mulled Edward’s question over more. She did need him to help her practice the alchemy but she knew enough that she could do it on her own if she needed to. But she didn’t really need him for anything else, at least not in the context he’d meant. This was all just getting out of hand. It was time to go home but she couldn’t stand the good-byes. That’s when she formulated her plan to leave; she’d do it that night while they were sleeping. She hated doing it like this but it was actually better this way.

That night, after Edward and Alphonse had gone to sleep Natalie transformed and slipped out of her room. She was just going to go outside but something made her go to Edward’s room instead. She had to say good-bye, even if he wasn’t awake to hear it.

Carefully she slipped into his room making sure not to make a sound. He looked so calm and peaceful while he slept. It was adorable, even though he had fallen asleep in his clothes again. She couldn’t help but to smile as she stood there for a moment just to make sure she remembered how his hair fell over and around his face. She walked around his bed so that she was on the left side, the side he was facing. Kneeling beside the bed, she gently moved his hair off of his forehead and from over his eyes. His hair was a lot softer that she’d expected it to be. Lightly she kissed him on the forehead.

“Good-bye Ed,” she said softly and then stood up. Just as she turned away from him she felt a hand grab her wrist. She turned back quickly to see that Edward was awake and he’d caught her.

“Trying to leave without saying good-bye?” he asked as he sat up.

Natalie closed her eyes and tried to catch the tears that threatened to escape from them. “That was the plan. I thought it would be better that way,” she replied softly. She started to tremble, her knees getting weak. Edward saw it happening and tugged on her arm so she would sit down on the bed and not fall. Once she was sitting though, she pulled her arm from his grasp as she turned so she was sitting to look at him.

His eyes looked so sad when she met them with her own. Why was that look there?

“I figured it out you know.”

“Figured what out?”

“The meaning of what you said to me the other night and why you did everything that you did.”

Natalie’s cheeks flushed so bright red she could feel the warmth of her sudden embarrassment burning in them and with the moonlight streaming into the room, she was sure Edward saw it too. It didn’t matter at this point though.

“I figured it out that night. I couldn’t go to sleep until I had, it bugged me that much. The reason you came here, the reason you sacrificed all of that for me, the reason you’re still here…” He took a deep breath before continuing. “Is it because you love me?”

Natalie bit at her lower lip and looked out the window instead of looking at him.

“I’m right aren’t I?” he asked, putting his hand on hers.

She just nodded.

“And you’d still leave?”

“That’s exactly why I was going to leave, why I have to leave,” she said softly, still not looking at him. “I’ve turned your lives upside down enough and I don’t belong here. I never did. It has to be this way.” She then got up and went over to the window.

Edward got up from the bed and walked up behind her almost close enough to whisper in her ear. “Then… if you have to leave… take me with you…”

Natalie spun around, her eyes wide from shock. “What? Are you out of your mind? I can’t do that!”

He put his finger to her lips. “Shhh, keep it down, you’ll wake up Al.” He then took his finger away and looked into her eyes. “Why can’t you? You brought me to the gate world. Besides, wouldn’t it be better to have someone you care about travelling with you?”

She recognized what he was doing and smacked him across the face for the second time in one day. “You arrogant, selfish… You know how I feel about you and you’re trying to use it against me! That’s just dirty and low Edward, even for you! You don’t care!” She pushed him back out of her way and ran out of the room. She couldn’t believe him right now. To ask her to take him with her then use her own feelings against her, she couldn’t believe any of it.

“Crap, screwed up,” he said to himself as he pulled on his boots and went after her. At this point he didn’t care if he woke up Alphonse he just needed to get her to stop before she could open a portal and leave. “Natalie stop! That’s not how I meant it!”

She didn’t care anymore; she just had to get out of here. Before she could make it out of the house though, he caught up with her and grabbed a hold of her arm stopping her dead in her tracks. “Wait a minute would ya?”

“Let me go Ed!” she said trying to yank her arm away. This time he wasn’t letting her, he held her just tight enough so that he could keep a hold on her without hurting her.

“No Natalie, I’m NOT going to let you go, not this time. Look, I’m sorry for what I said upstairs. Yes, it was cruel but cut me some slack; this isn’t something I’m good at dealing with alright? I still don’t get it. I don’t understand why you feel this way about me and I REALLY don’t get why it bugs me so much.”

She stopped struggling and just resigned herself to the fact that he wasn’t going to let her go. “Ed, you’re trying to look at something logically that has no logic to it to begin with,” she said softly.

“Alphonse said something like that to me too. It just doesn’t make sense.”

“Edward, there are some things that only make sense once you realize they don’t and resign yourself to just letting it be and nothing else. Love is one of those things. You wish for it, you look for it; you do everything to hold it in your hands and control it. It’s only once you’ve given up and given in to it that it appears in those very same hands.” Natalie sighed heavily. “I never should have come here expecting you to understand, hell, I don’t even really get it.”

At her words, Edward let her go. He went over and sat down on the couch. He knew that he’d just given her an open invitation to just walk away, to do exactly as she had planned. He was hoping that she wouldn’t. It finally started to click how it was possible. He still wasn’t sure if he believed in the idea of love at first sight and he wasn’t even sure if he actually loved her but he did know that he cared about her and that had happened in the three days she had been here. He couldn’t just dismiss it, not anymore anyway. He couldn’t hold her here against her will either. He may be a jerk sometimes but he wasn’t a monster.

Natalie thought about it for a moment and for that moment she really was going to just run out the door and not look back but she changed her mind. Damn it, why couldn’t she just walk away? She went over and sat next to him on the couch.

“Answer me one question, why did you really say you wanted to go with me?”

Resting his elbows on his knees, he rested his chin in his hands thankful that she had decided to at least wait a little longer. “What else do I have left here? Alphonse told me we needed a new purpose and he found one. He wants to go to Xing and research alchehestry with May but he won’t go unless he knows I’m going to be alright. I don’t want to hold him back; I’ve done enough of that. We finally got our lives back; I just want him to be able to do what he wants with his and not have to worry about me.” Edward shook his head. “Listen to me, and here I thought I was supposed to be the older brother.” He couldn’t bring himself to tell her the other reason, that he wasn’t ready to let her go.

Natalie put her hand on his back. “There’s nothing wrong with wanting the best for your brother Ed. Why not go with him to Xing?”

Edward laughed a bit. “As much as I want to know about alchehestry myself, I think I would just be in the way if you catch my drift.”

Natalie smiled and laughed. “Yeah I know exactly what you mean but then why not go west? Maybe there’s something there.”

He looked at her. “The last time I went searching blindly for something, it almost got both Al and I killed numerous times. Plus, as much as I hate to admit it, I really don’t want to go alone. Half the fun of the old days was travelling with Al but it’s time for us to make our own lives.”

“But how does going with me make you have your own life?”

“There are so many different worlds out there and I want to see them too. Who knows what I could learn and bring back here. Between what Al learns in Xing and what I might find if I go with you, we might be able to make better lives for people here.”

Natalie’s heart was breaking listening to him. The more he said the more she wanted to bring him with her, the more she wished she could. It wasn’t for any selfish reason either, she agreed with him. She knew herself that there were things in her world alone that would help them here.

“I wish I could bring you with me,” she said softly. She wasn’t even sure if he could hear her.

“Why can’t you? Like I said before, you brought me to the gate world, why can’t I go now?”

Natalie sighed heavily, so he had heard her after all. “I’m not allowed to take people from their own world Ed. The gate world exists within this world so I didn’t technically take you away. If I take you with me when I leave here, there’s a price to pay and the only thing I know about it is that it’s something that’s precious to me. There are only a few things that I hold precious to me and I don’t want to lose any of them.” She paused for a moment and looked at him, putting her hand on his cheek. “That includes you too you know.”

Edward couldn’t help but to blush and there was no missing it. Natalie noticed but left it alone. The last thing she wanted to do was give him a reason to press the issue of coming with her.

She got up and started heading to the door. “I think it’s time I go now Ed…” she said softly, not looking back at him. “The sooner I leave; the sooner things will get back to normal for you and Alphonse…” Reaching the door, she opened it and walked out.

Edward sat there, stone silent, not knowing what to do. He wanted to go after her but how could he after what she’d just said to him? He didn’t want to cost her anything more than he already had but there was something in him that just didn’t want to let her go either. Edward had no idea what to do now.

Alphonse had heard the commotion and had been sitting at the top of the stairs listening pretty much the entire time. He held his brother’s jacket in his hands, the one he’d worn pretty much through their entire journey in the old days.

“What are you waiting for Brother? Don’t let her just leave! I’ll be fine! Follow your heart instead of your stubborn head for once!”

“Al…” he said softly looking up to his brother standing on the stairs. “I…”

“I told you Brother, I’ll be fine. Don’t worry about me. You’re so worried about holding me back; don’t let me be the one that holds you back. You’ve got two perfectly good legs Brother! Get up and use them!” As he said this last part he threw Edward’s jacket down to him.

That snapped Edward out of the stupor he was in. “Thanks Al!” he said as he jumped up from the couch, grabbing the jacket just before it hit the floor and ran out the door. He knew he had to take the chance, if not for this then for what?

Alphonse smiled as he watched his brother leave. He knew he probably wouldn’t see him again for a very long time after this but that was alright. It was good to know that Edward was finally back to the brother he knew and loved and that maybe he could finally be happy.

Edward ran down the road as fast as his legs would carry him, quickly throwing his jacket on as he did, the ends flapping wildly in the wind behind him. He couldn’t see her but he saw a light coming from behind the tree that she had hidden behind when she got here. He didn’t have much time.

He reached her just as she was going to step through the portal. “Wait!” he yelled as he lunged to reach her.

“What the…?” she said as she paused for a moment and turned just in time to see him crash into her, his arms wrapping around her. When he did, it made them both fall through the portal.


End file.
